1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a masonry guide for use in laying bricks in general and more particular to the laying of brick chimneys or brick columns.
2. Background Information
Masonry guides have long been used to aid the mason in proper alignment of successive courses of brick or block. A specific aspect of masonry deals with the construction of brick chimneys or columns. Such chimneys that are built from brick typically extend above the roof several feet. It is essential that each successive course be both level and plumb, as many chimneys are highly visible and decorative. The time spent leveling and aligning corners add significantly to the construction cost. It is therefore highly desirable to use a device for reducing labor cost. However, many patents teach the necessity of attaching the guides in some manner to the frame structure adjacent to the brick work. When constructing the brick chimney above the roof there may be no adjacent framing structures available to which a guide can be attached or leveled on a sloped roof.
The present invention attaches to the previously constructed segment of the chimney with no need to attach to the structure of the building. Prior art may only indicate the aligned position of the bricks however the present invention not only indicates the proper alignment but physically holds the bricks in position. No other masonry guide is designed to plumb and hold all four corners of a brick chimney throughout construction or is attached solely to the masonry structure being built.
Unlike other guides or plumbing devices used for constructing brick columns the chimney guide holds each of the lower courses immobile and becomes even more stable as the column of brick is built up in each successive course.